The mystery behind the UFOs seen hovering over Surbiton and Ewell two weeks ago appears to have been solved.

After reading our front page story last week, about Surbiton extra terrestrials, Gary Gray realised he had inadvertently been the cause of the confusion.

The 39-year-old and his wife Rachel, 38, from Dee Way in Ewell, were celebrating at Horton Park Golf and Country Club, after friends had renewed their wedding vows earlier in the day.

Along with two other couples, Gary and Rachel decided to buy 30 Chinese lanterns to let off at the celebrations, never for a moment thinking they would be mistaken for the crafts of an invading Martian army.

The lanterns are filled with helium and released to float up into the night sky, often to heights of about 1000 metres.

Dozens of readers emailed the Surrey Comet after spotting the "strange" phenomenon and many could not work out what the orange orbs were.

"I was in stitches when I read about it," Gary admitted, "You're not supposed to let them go if it's really windy. But if it is then they do move around a lot. They can go quite a long way, sometimes even miles. We don't do it that often though. Normally it's only at weddings."

But could the truth be stranger still? Since Gary's admission more people have come forward, reporting strange lights in the sky over a week after the wedding in Horton Park.

Paul Taylor from Epsom said: "It was Saturday (September 8) and, while driving along Chessington Road, between Longmead Road and Hook Road, my wife and I have just seen five orange lights gliding across the sky.

"By the time we got to the Hook Road area they had gone."

Ben from West Ewell said: "I also saw between 10 and 12 orange lights on Saturday September 8 at about 8.45pm while on route to the Chinese takeaway.

"They were all drifting in the same direction, and winked out one by one. I pointed them out to some customers outside the Chinese and they were similarly baffled."

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